As an auxilary to the Gift Box post of the other day, I was wondering, do you all keep a selection of greeting cards on hand at your place?
If you don’t, you really should! If you have to run out and buy a card at the last minute you will usually spend about $4 at Wally World or the local drugstore. Dollar stores usually sell greeting cards 2 for $1, and Michaels sells boxed greeting cards 20 for $7.99 in their store.
Buy a basic assortment of birthday, thank you, congratulations, get well and sympathy cards and you will be ready for any contingency while saving money. Personally I prefer the boxed sets from Michaels. The cards are very nice quality, with various ornmentation (3D, glitter, googly eyes etc), they contain a variety of types (including a few blank cards) and the boxes are a great place to keep and organize the cards.
And don’t forget to buy some stamps while you are at it 🙂
This is a wonderful idea. Sometimes a store will have BOGO or other deals on cards, and that’s when I buy a few to keep. Sometimes I make my own cards. Frankly, $4 for a piece of cardboard is a total ripoff. Better to have some in stock that be stuck paying that!
Hi Jenn! We made birthday cards for a lot of people this year. It’s personal, fun, and definitely cheaper.
The outrageous cost of greeting cards has been a sore spot with me for years. I lived for many years in an area where it was aways a signifiacant trip to go to any store, so spontaneously sending a card was out of the question. I solved my dilemma by buying an inexpensive computer CD program which allow you to creat your own, personalized cards. I buy bulk (250) #5 1/2 envelopes at an office supply store and even including the cost of the ink cartridge for my printer, the cost per greeting card is only a few cents each. But best of all, each cards says EXACTLY what I want to be said! I even collect ‘sayings’ and keep a folder on my desktop. The program I have been using is American Greetings. Hewitt Packard also has a site for creating cards.
Making cards can be a lot of fun. But you have to be careful-if you get into the stamping and embelishing of cards it can actually wind up costing you more than just buying one!
This is just another one of those areas where being organized can save you money.
I like to get the boxed sets from Costco. Keeping them on hand has saved me time and money. In addition, I’m more likely to get the card mailed if it is handy.